When talking about melodic death metal Noumena stands in the front line without a doubt. Born and bred in Finland, this innovative group has seen a long journey to their latest album Anatomy Of Life, released in 2006. If one should pick up a good old "make it or break it" story of whether the third album of a band would decide its future then Noumena had nothing to worry about.
Formed in 1998 (Ähtäri, Finland) Noumena remained ambitious regardless of bitter experiences with a Singaporean label and an unreleased album. With a stubborn and persistent mentality Ähtäri deathsters continued spreading melodeath until Catharsis Records from Australia released their debut album Pride/Fall in 2002, consisting material from 1999 and 2001 studio sessions.
With a new promo-CD, Noumena hit the jackpot in 2004. Ever wicked Spikefarm Records (subdivision of Spinefarm) offered a deal and the rest is history. The second album Absence was recorded in Studio Sundi Coop (Finntroll, Ajattara etc.) and released in April 2005. Rapidly Noumena gathered praising reviews worldwide, widened their fan base and played lots of gigs (inc. club tour in Germany and Austria). Even though one might consider melodeath as a worn-out genre, Noumena proved with Absence that melodic death can be fresh, experimental and versatile.
Why fix something that isn't broken? After the Eurotour and a couple of rehearsing weeks Noumena entered Studio Sundi Coop again in order to forge the follow-up for Absence. And they didn't let the metal audience down. As an appetizer they released Triumph And Loss internet-EP and in November 2006 the third album Anatomy Of Life. It turned out to be a highly praised and well received highlight of the year for masses of listeners and reviewers. AOL introduces evolved Noumena style: diverse, epic, folkish and yet melancholic melodeath. Hanna Leinonen and Tuomas Tuominen appear as guest vocalists, as they did on Absence, creating more variety and atmosphere. Anatomy Of Life encompasses many elements that I feel are either lost in melodic death as of now or have not been incorporated as of yet, making this disc not only reminscent of the melodic death of yesteryear but also fresh and original, depicts Harm Magazine.
Source : http://www.myspace.com/noumena
